Tale of the Desert - Nathan Manor (love letters to the dead .TXT) 📗

"We will make contact with the enemy in the next 2 hours, our best shot is to send one scout group to distract them while the main force flanks them." Axel explains further. "The faster and more agilely you can run the better off you are." Several volunteer, the first group still being a bit light Axel points at several others including Jonah. "You all will be the scouts." Jonah losing his nerve "I don't think I can do it Commander Refer.." "All you need to do is run." Jonah is reminded of the advice he received the previous night. Just as they were leaving Ada runs up to Jonah "I didn't tell them yet but this is your last chance.." Without saying anything else Jonah walks past her.

The following hour of walking out in the sands was filled with strategic planning and some last bits of advice. "Unless you plan on taking them out immediately never get too close to them, they are very , very strong. I have seen them take full grown men and toss them around like toys." "Got it!" Remarks Jonah. At once everyone stops and hunches down. A whisper in the group says that Axel spotted the M.S.F. “Scouts move in, distract them for two minutes and we will be right behind them." They were off, all of them practically flying across the desert with Jonah trailing them. There was about 7 of the M.S.F. , 6 person sized raiders and a hulking Decimator leading the pack, Jonah making the 7th and last of his own group watch the others taunt the machines. Jonah being so focused on watching the others he lost track of the Decimator rising from the sand taking hold of his leg and dangling him. The Decimator began to scan Jonah with its 3 red lenses for eyes. Seeing his chance to do fight back he shoved the staff he had right into one of its eyes. The stunned Decimator stumbles and releases Jonah letting him fall to the sand bellow. Rolling to the side of the large android he hops back onto his feet. Jonah now running as quickly as he can zig zags across the dunes trying to keep the Decimator, who has already given chase, from locking on him with its two remaining eyes. "OKAY! Just a few more seconds and-" Without realizing it has leapt into dead space between two hills, with no clear landing he slams into the hillside rolling down to the bottom. Pulling himself from the sand Jonah looks up to the top of the hill the Decimators red eyes glow and crackle and a dense beam blazes forth, the sand giving way beneath Jonah shifts him just enough avoid being hit directly but the grazing blow to the arm still seers then vaporize the flesh leaving a distinct gash in his arm, leaving him writhing in pain. The Decimator takes careful aim to take one last shot to finish Jonah when the end of a staff burst through the center of its head. The disabled falling to the ground with Axel and Serrif behind it. Serrif inspects Jonah "Lucky it didn't take your whole damn arm off." "Don't be so hard on him, taking on a Decimator isn't exactly fun and games." Comments Axel. Serrif slides down to Jonah to help him up "We'll get you patched up. The rest of the M.S.F. were disabled."

Roused from the damp floor of the cavern he was tossed in he looks back to find the entrance completely blocked off by tons of sand and chunks of the ceiling. "What a load of crap..." Jonah murmurs as he shakes to his feet. The walls, floor and ceiling around him are all covered with a strange pattern of marking. The walls are a off white color the writing white. It seems like the entire cavern is glazed in a strange glassy gloss. Starring at the symbols they glow and pulse whenever he moves close to them creating waves of light that trail off deeper into the ruin. At first he tries digging out the sand only to find solid blocks preventing his escape "I have no choice do I..." He looks down and sees a small groove cut into the floor with water flowing in it. "Huh...Wonder where this leads." He eases his way down the corridors, each splitting off several direction but only one has the same grove in the floor. The deeper he travels the more intensely the markings around him light up, exploding into brilliant greens, blues, violet, orange and white. "How long has this place been here.. I wonder if anyone other then me and whoever that guy was has actually gone down here." He speaks out loud, his voice echoing off the walls and into the depths returning to him faded. Reaching a drop off he slips down nearly tripping barely catching his fall. At this point he has been traveling for quite awhile, the ache he had earlier has faded, the sent of burning electronics catches his attention. “What is this smell.." Jonah looks around, he spots a pile of smoldering debris off in the distance and jogs up to it. Finally seeing up close he is shocked to see M.S.F. Still twitching and sparking. The segments of their bodies dismembered in sharp slices, glowing a molten red "Did that human I ran into do this?! There is no way." Pushing forward the brightness steadily grows and more piles of dispatched M.S.F. lay about, the smell of their charred forms becoming overwhelming. "I need to get out of here as soon as possible, these fumes can't be good." Hurrying his pace he reaches a large chamber. In the center a series of levitating ring-shaped platforms slowly rotate. "What is this place..." He looks it over then tries to step aboard only to feel his entire body seize up. The Light of the room fades then grows intensely as the symbols printed on the walls engulf his arm , the rings beneath his feet shrink and collapse around the arm forming a banded armor with the symbols on the walls printed on, Jonah fells a intense weight then passes out.
A blurred image of a woman in white armor appears
"Jonah, Trificxion, the power of the will made physical is your heritage, embrace it!"
The suns light shines down on his bruised face. Lifting his right arm to the sky there is armor fused to his flesh and the ruins have disappeared. The word Trificxion, is burned into his psyche'.

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Publication Date: 11-19-2010

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